iMac EFI Update 1.6 Adds 6 Gb/s SATA Capabilities - MacRumors
MacRumors is in read-only mode during maintenance - content may be slightly stale
Skip to Content

iMac EFI Update 1.6 Adds 6 Gb/s SATA Capabilities

125412 imac 2011 tron

Other World Computing reports that the iMac EFI Update 1.6 released yesterday for Apple's new iMacs brings an unadvertised improvement in SATA performance for the internal hard drive bays.

While iMac EFI Update 1.6 is described as including "fixes that improve performance and stability for Thunderbolt," it would also seem that an unadvertised benefit is that it also unlocks the full 6Gb/s, SATA 3.0 capabilities of two of the internal drive bays.

Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s.

The report notes that Apple also released an EFI update for the current MacBook Pros yesterday, but it is unclear whether that update attempts to address SATA performance issues found in the 17-inch models.

Related Roundup: iMac
Buyer's Guide: iMac (Don't Buy)
Related Forum: iMac

Popular Stories

Apple iMac M4 hero feature

M6 iMac Coming This Year in New Colors

Sunday August 23, 2026 11:36 am PDT by
Apple is readying new iMac models with an upgraded chip and new color options, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Writing in his latest Power On newsletter, Gurman says the new version is likely to be an updated 24-inch model with an M6 chip, replacing the existing M4 model that arrived in October 2024. New colors are also said to be on the menu, though Gurman does not say what they...
iscreenbar 1

BenQ's New iScreenBar is a Monitor Light Bar Made for the iMac

Tuesday August 25, 2026 5:31 pm PDT by
BenQ today announced the launch of the iScreenBar, which it says is the first monitor light bar built for the iMac. The iScreenBar is meant to look like an extension of the iMac, offering desk lighting that does not clash with the iMac's design or block the camera or microphone. It's made from aluminum and lights an area of 33.5 by 19.7 inches at 500 lux. A glass touch panel is available for ...
iOS 27 Next to iPhone

Here's When iOS 27 Rolls Out Today in Every Time Zone [Update: It's Out]

Sunday September 13, 2026 3:00 am PDT by
Update 10:04 a.m.: iOS 27 is rolling out now, though it may take a bit for all users to see it, so keep checking! Apple is about to release iOS 27, which will finally deliver more advanced Siri AI capabilities as well as a variety of other refinements, improvements, and new features to iPhones. It's Apple's biggest software update of the year, and Apple announced at Wednesday's iPhone event...

Top Rated Comments

201 months ago
The only thing unfortunate about the optical bay not being 6GB/s is the lack of understanding from the original source.

The Z68 chipset has provisions for 6 SATA ports, 2x 6GB/s, 4x 3GB/s. Its the reason why motherboard manufacturers include marvell and other SATA chips to offer more than the 2x 6GB/s ports you would get relying solely on the Intel chipset.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
201 months ago
This is great news, but Barefeats (http://barefeats.com/imac11.html) reports that installing any third party drive in the 2011 iMac will make its fans run at full speed. Those of you that have installed third party drives, are you seeing this?

If you install a drive that cannot make use of the temperature sensor that the drive you took out did, then yes, the fan will run at full speed. I took out my optical drive and upgraded my iMac to SSD + HDD and now my optical drive fan runs at max speed - UNLESS I tell it otherwise with SMC Fan Control, which is a free utility you can download :p so... I have no problems.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
201 months ago
Some people remove the optical drive and use it as a hard drive bay.

This is unsupported, therefore irrelevant for the purposes of this update...what really matters is that internal SSDs would benefit from it...EXCELLENT news that should silence the whining of some people around here.

GO APPLE!
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)
201 months ago
Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s.

What the hell? No optical drive can reach 3GB/s

Some people remove the optical drive and use it as a hard drive bay.
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)
201 months ago
Unfortunately, the optical bay remains at 3Gb/s.

What the hell? No optical drive can reach 3GB/s
Score: 0 Votes (Like | Disagree)